Article of hosiery and method of making the same



June 27 1950 P. 1.. THURSTON 2,512,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947 sSheets-Sheet 1 A TTQRNEK Ju 7, 1950 P. L. THURSTON ,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. PA UL L. THURS TON A TTORNEX June 27,1950 u s o2,512,728

ARTICLE OF HOSIERY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Feb. 6, 1947SSheetS-Sheet I5 INVENTOR. PA (/L L. THURSTON A TTORNEY Patented clune27, l95fi AETKCLE F HOSIERY AND METHQD 0F MAJKKNG THE SAME Paul L.Thurston, Martinsburg, W. Va, assignor to Interwoven Stocking Company,New Brunswick, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application February6, 194%, Serial No. 726,792

13 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to articles of hosiery and is particularlyapplicable to half hose and other hosiery knit of relatively heavy yarnor thread on a coarse gauge machine for example a machine havingapproximately 132 or fewer needles. Methods and apparatus for carryingout my invention are described and claimed in co pending application,Serial No. 18,223, filed March 31, 1948, now abandoned.

Coarse gauge hosiery knit of heavy yarn commonly used for informal orsports wear as well as for work socks. Some coarse gauge socks areformed of plain knit fabrics while others are rib knit, the termrib-knitting being used to include purl and Links-Links patterns as wellas vertical rib. However, it has been common practice to form the soleportions of socks of plain knit fabric whether the leg portion andinstep are plain knit or are ribbed.

in plain knit fabric all of the stitches are drawn through the precedingstitches in the same di rection, i. e., towards the outer face of thefabric. Such fabric is produced on a single cylinder knitting machineand may also be produced on a knitting machine of the coaxial cylindertype by operating the machine with all of the needles in the lowercylinder so that the machine operates in the same manner as a singlecylinder machine.

In rib knit fabric, selected stitches are drawn through the precedingstitches in one direction, toward the outer face of the fabric, whileother stitches are drawn through the preceding stitches in the oppositedirection, e. g, toward the inner face of the fabric. The stitches whichare drawn toward the outer face of the fabric are herein calledoutwardly facing stitches, while the stitches which are drawn toward theinner face of the fabric are called inwardly facing stitches. if thestitch arrangement in each course is the same as in the preceding courseso that selected wales are formed of outwardl facing stitches, whileother wales are formed of inwardly facing stitches, the resulting fabricis characterized by vertically extending ribs. The width or course-wiseextent of the ribs is designated by the number of wales of like stitchesforming the respective ribs. Fabric having ribs composed of three ormore consecutive wales is commonly ref erred to as broad ribbed fabric.

If the stitch arrangement varies from course to course so that at leastcertain wales are composed of both inwardly facing stitches andoutwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined order, the resultingfabric is designated purl or Links-Links fabric. The term purl isfrequent ly used to designate fabric in which a course or group ofcourses of outwardly facing stitches a1- ternate with a course or groupof courses of inwardly facing stitches, while the term Links- Links isused broadly to include purl fabric as thus defined and also fabric inwhich selected courses as well as selected wales are composed'of bothinwardly and outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined order.The arrangement of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facingstitches in Links-Links fabric can be infinitely varied to producedifferent patterns as desired.

Rib knit fabric is produced on a cylinder and dial machine, theoutwardly facing stitches being formed by the cylinder needles while theinwardly facing stitches are formed by the dial hooks or needles. Ribknit fabric including Links-Links fabric may also be produced on amachine of the coaxial cylinder type, outwardly facing stitches beingformed by needles operating in thelower cylinder while inwardly facingstitches are formed by needles operating in the upper cylinder. If avertical rib fabric is desired, the same needles are maintained in therespective cylinders throughout the knitting of the fabric. If it isdesired to produce Links-Links fabric, selected needles are shifted backand forth from one cylinder to the other during the knitting ofsuccessive courses so that the wales produced. by such needles willcomprise both outwardly facing stitches knit when the respective needlesare in the lower cylinder, and inwardly facing stitches knit when therespective needles are in the upper cylinder.

In producing rib knit socks on a coaxial cylinder knittin machine, thetop portion and the leg portion of the sock are knit by operating themachine with selected needles in the upper cyl= inder and other needlesin the lower cylinder to produce the particular rib pattern desired.When the heel is reached all of the needles on one side of the needlecylinder, referred to as the sole side, are positioned in the lowercylinder to produce consecutive outwardly facing stitches or plain knitfabric. In some instances, this transfor is effected shortly beforereaching the heel to form a plain knit high-splice portion just abovethe heel. The heel pocket is knit by reciprocation in usual manner.After the heel is 001m pleted the machine is again operated bycontinuous rotation to knit the sole and the instep portion of the foot.The needles on the instep side of the cylinder are distributed betweenthe upper and lower cylinders to continue the rib pattern of the leg.However, all of the needles on the sole side of the cylinder remain inthe lowor cylinder so that the sole is formed wholly of outwardly facingstitches, i. e., of plain knit fabric. Shortly before the toe is reachedthe needles on the instep side are transferred to the lower cylinder toproduce a toe band composed of outwardly facing stitches or plain knitfabric throughout its circumference. The toe pocket is 3 then knit byreciprocation in the same manner as the heel.

It will thus be seen that the bottom of the foot or sole of a rib knitsock as well as the sole of a plain knit sock is commonly formed ofplain knit fabric.

In plain knit fabric, the outer face of the fabric is formed by thevertically extending portions or legs of the needle loops of the knittedstitches which form a relatively smooth flat surface. inner face isformed primarily of the sinker loops and the transversely extending orbottom portions of the needle loops which together form a corrugated orwashboard surface. In coarse gauge socks, for example socks knit ofheavy yarn on a machine having approximately or fewer needles per inch,the inner face of plain knit fabric is so rough as to be uncomfortableto walk or stand on. Continual pressure of the bottom of the foot on arough surface of this kind results in discomfort and fatigue of thewearer. The condition is accentuated by the fact that coarse gauge sockssuch as sport socks and work socks are customarily worn at times whenthe person wearing them is active and is on his feet for considerableperiods. The resulting foot discomfort and fatigue unavoidably reactsadversely on the entire physiological and neurotic system at a time whengreatest energy and endurance are desired.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome this objectionablefeature of coarse gauge hosiery heretofore available and to provide asock that is more comfortable to wear. A further object of the inventionis to provide an improved article of hosiery having a smooth insoleengaging the bottom of the wearers foot in contrast to the rough innerface of the soles found in coarse gauge hosiery presently available.While the present invention is not limited as to the coarseness orfineness of the hose it is particularly beneficial in coarse gaugehosiery where the washboard surface presented to the bottom of thewearers foot has been especially objectionable. The present invention isapplicable to rib knit hose including Links-Links patterns as well as toplain knit hosiery.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description and claims and from the accompanyingdrawings which show by way of example several embodiments that have beenselected to illustrate the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side View of a sock embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a composite stitch diagram of representative portions of thefabric of the sock shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a composite stitch diagram of typical portions of the fabricof the sock shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a further embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the inner face of a section of fabriccomposed in part of outwardly facing stitches and in part of inwardlyfacing stitches.

In accordance with the present invention, the fabric of the sole portionof an article of hosiery is reversed so as to present a smooth innersurface to the foot of the wearer. In other words, the sole portion isformed of consecutive courses of consecutively inwardly facing stitchesinstead of The a being formed of outwardly facing stitches or plain knitfabric as heretofore. In contrast to the rough washboard surfacepresented to the wearers foot by the inner face of plain knit fabric ofwhich the sole portions of socks have hitherto been formed, the innersurface of the reversed sole fabric of the present invention is smoothand soft, even in coarse gauge fabric such as that produced on an 84needle machine. The smooth inner surface of the reversed sole makes thehosiery more comfortable to wear and avoids the foot fatigue incident tostanding continuously on a rough surface.

The difference between the rough inner face of plain knit fabric and thesmooth surface presented by the inner face of the reversed sole of thepresent invention is illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. This figureshows the inner face of a section of fabric taken at the junction of thereversed sole and adjacent fabric formed of outwardly facing stitches,for example in the area of the rectangle VI in Fig. 5. The left handportion of the fabric shows the inner face of a portion of the reversedsole in accordance with the present invention. It will be seen that theinner surface of this portion of the fabric is formed by contiguous legportions i l of the needle loops 1 2 which extend in a generallyvertical or walewise direction though slightly inclined in a chevron orherringbone pattern. These exposed portions of the yarn liesubstantially in the same plane to form a smooth flat and uniformsurface. The right hand portion of Fig. 6 shows the inner face of plainknit fabric, 1. e., fabric formed by consecutive outwardly facingstitches. It will be seen that the inner surface of such fabric isformed by the transversely extending sinker loops i3 and thetransversely extending bottom portions I4 of the needle loops whichtogether form transversely extending wavy ridges separated byintervening valleys. These ridges and valleys form a corrugated orwashboard surface, the roughness of which increases with the coarsenessof the fabric. The contrast between the rough inner surface of the plainknit fabric which previously formed the sole portions of rib knit asWell as plain knit hosiery and the smooth surface presented to thewearers foot by the reversed sole in accordance with the presentinvention is readily apparent from the illustration in Fig. 6 and isstill more apparent from examination of the fabric itself.

While reversed sole hosiery in accordance with the present invention hasimportant advantages particularly as regards the foot comfort of thewearer, its production required the solution of difllcult problems. Inknitting hosiery on a knitting machine of the coaxial cylinder type, theinherent limitations of the machine restrict the number of consecutivestitches that can be knit on the upper cylinder needles. The lowerneedle cylinder is provided with sinkers which are interposed betweenconsecutive needles and cooperate with the needles in forming andcasting off the stitches knit by needles operated in the lower cylinder.No sinkers are provided on the upper needle cylinder as suchconstruction would unduly complicate the machine and would not bepractical. The loops or stitches knit by upper cylinder needles aredrawn over a fixed edge usually called a verge and are cast off or, moreaccurately, pulled 01f by tension exerted on the previously knittedfabric. By reason of the lack of sinkers in the upper cylinder and thedifference in the way in which the stitches are formed and ferentlengths. duce a 6 X 3 ribbed sock with a l x 1' ribbed top, there arethree different lengths oftransfer butts double transfer.

cast off in the upper and the lOWEY-CYlldldGlSythG -.number ofconsecutive stitches knit in :the upper cylinder has been quite limited.In other words,

. -themajority ofthe'stitches are outwardly facing stitches.-

broa'd rib fabric, such as an 11 x 4 rib, there are For example, even inproducing very only 4 consecutive inwardly facing stitches knit ontheupper cylinder needle while eleven consecutiveoutwardly facingstitches are knit on the lower cylinder. The formation of the entiresole of .a sock of inwardly facing stitches thus represents a-radicaldeparture from the present practice. The difficulty of the problem ofknitting a reversed sole in accordance with the .prevent invention wasincreased by the fact that in knitting a sock from the top to the toethe knitting of the v -sole portion of thesock immediately follows theheel pocket. The tension used toassist in casting off stitches formed byupper cylinder needles is applied to the fabric by power driven tensionrollers between which the fabric passes. "These rollers are locatedbelowthe lower cylinder and hence some distance from the .point at whichknitting occurs. "As the rollers act on the string of fabric as a whole,the slack resulting from the additional portions forming the heel pocketcauses lossof tension on the sole side of the needle cylinder at thetime the sole is being knit. 7 When .thesoleisformed of plain knitfabric, as in the :prior'art; this loss of tension is unimportant as =ithe: sole is knit on lower cylinder needles where thesinkers cooperateto cast off the stitches and tension is not required. The situation isquite idifferentwhen it is desired to form the entire .sole of inwardlyfacing stitches and a difficult problem is presented.

A further difficulty which may not at first be apparent but which isvery realis the limitation in the number of needle transfers that can asa practical matter be effected in a coaxial cylinder machine. Needleselection in making the transfers is obtained by utilizing transferbutts of dif- For example, in order to "proin the upper cylinder and twoin the'lower cylinder. At the first transfer, i. e., from plain to 1X 1rib, the lower transfer cam goes in part way to engage only the longtransfer butts provided on alternate needle sliders thus transferringaltertransfer before the heel, the upper transfer cam goes in far enoughto engage all but the very short butts. As these short butt sliderscarry the 'rib needles on the instep side of the cylinder,

they are left in the top cylinder while those in the heel half aretransferred down to the lower cylinder to produce plain knit fabric forthe heel and the sole. t the final transfer, before the toe, the uppertransfer cam goes all the way in and-transfers all of the remaining ribneedles to the lower cylinder.

It will be seen that even to produce a relatively simple sock like thatjust described, rather complicated series of transfer operations isrequired. With this arrangement of transfer butts and cams, it is notpossible to .=.transfer'all of the needles on thesole, sideto the ;uppercylinder to produce a-reversed-so1e in 'typezdoes not provideca solutionto-this'problem. The Links-Links mechanism provides a fixed number ofmoves or needle selections, for example 12, afterwhich the pattern isrepeated; If for example, one ofthe moves were to be used.tozposition-all of the needles on thesole side of the j cylinder in.the; upper; cylinder, these1needles -would be positioned in the uppercylindenevery twelfthzcourseia Thiswould obviously disrupt theLinks-Links pattern in the .leg! portion of..the I seek.

Theseidifficulties and problems have beenoVercome by thepresent'invention and a greatly improved article of hosiery has beenprovided to 1 the trade.

tisockembo'dying the present invention. The

A Ll

' stitch structure of thelfabric of this-sock will bereadily understoodby reference toFig-r2 which represents a stitch diagram of typicalportions of successivetsections of the sock. The portions 1' selectedare ztaken from a central longitudinal .bandapproximately 21 wales widedownthe side opthesockshown inFig. 1. Each square in thediagramlrepresents a stitch. A cross is placed .in a. square torepresent an inwardly facing stitch.

. ."For. an outwardly facing stitch, the square-is left blank.

. :The. sock shown in Fig. l is provided at its up- I per edge with. an'anti-ravel selvage or welt W. The .topportion or rib R of the sock isformed of 25x 2 rib fabric. As seen in Fig. 2, this fabric is composedof ribs formed by two consecutive wales of outwardly facing stitchesalternating with ribs'formecl by twoconsecutive wales of inwardly facingstitches. -Theleg'portion L and .:stitches alternate with ribs of 4consecutive wales of inwardly facing stitches. Above the heel,

.. there is an-area P, commonly referred to as a 'high-splic'e, formedof plain knit fabric. The heel l-i'is formed in the usual manner byreciprocatory knitting and is composed of outwardly facing stitchesImmediately "following the heel, there are preferably one ormorecircular knit courses oom-prisingconsecutive outwardly facing stitches ithroughout the circumferential extent corresponding approximately to thewidth of the heel.

The. introduction ofthese courses avoids the formation of undesirablylarge eyelets adjacent the gore G of the-heel. -Two such courses areindicated in Figs. 1 and 2 by the reference numeral l5. The sole S ofthe sock, in accordance with the present invention, is reversed by beingformed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches,as clearly shown in Fig. 2'. i The reversal of the sole portion of thestock providesa smooth inner surface on the inner face of the sole asdescribed above in conjunction with Fig. 6. In some-instances it ispreferable to make the reversed sole narrower than the heel asillustrated in Fig. 2. Following the sole and instep there is a toe bandportion B. The toe band is ordinarily formed of plain knit fabricthroughout its circumferential extent. In accordance with the presentinvention, the sole side of the toe band is reversed, being formed ofconsecutive inwardly facing stitches, whilethe insteptside of the toe:band is formed ofputwardly facing stitches. The last course o two ofthe toe band may if desired be formed wholly of outwardly facingstitches before going into the toe pocket which is reciprocatoriallyknit in the same manner as the heel. The outer surface of the sole orother portions of the sock may if desired be brushed after the sock isknit.

As the method of producing the novel hosiery structure of the presentinvention is described more fully in the above-mentioned companionapplication, the method steps will be referred to here only briefly. Thesocks are preferably knit by string work on a machine of the coaxialcylinder type. The antiravel edge W may be produced in any desiredmanner. For example, a tubular welt may be formed by transferringalternate needles to the upper cylinder, knitting at least one round onall needles then holding the upper cylinder needles out of action whileknitting a plurality of rounds on the lower cylinder needles only andthereafter resuming knitting on all of the needles to close the welt.After completion of the welt, selected needles are transferred to thelower cylinder and others to the upper cylinder to provide groups of twoneedles in the upper cylinder alternating with groups of two needles inthe lower cylinder to produce the 2 x 2 rib top. In a multiple feedmachine, the additional feed or feeds may be introduced at this time.The knitting of the 2 x 2 rib fabric is continued until the leg portionL is reached whereupon another double transfer of needles is effected toposition groups of eleven needles in the lower cylinder alternating withgroups of four needles in the upper cylinder. Shortly before the heel isreached, all of the upper cylinder needles on the side of the cylinderon which the heel and sole are knit are transferred to the lowercylinder to knit the high-splice area P. The machine is then operated byreciprocation of the needle cylinders to knit the heel pocket 4 whileneedles on the instep side of the cylinder are held inoperative andretain their stitches. The heel is preferably knit with a single yarnfeed.

Following the knitting of the heel the machine is again operated bycontinuous rotation and one or more circular courses are preferably knitwith the same needle selection as in knitting the high splice. Anyadditional feeds are reintroduced during the knitting of these courses.All of the needles that are to produce the reversed sole of the sock arethen transferred to the upper cylinder so as to knit the inwardly facingstitches characterizing the reversed sole of the'present invention.Special mechanism is provided for transferring the needles to the uppercylinder and for applying additional tension to ensure the propercasting off of the stitches of the reverse sole section knit on uppercylinder needles as described more fully in the above mentionedcompanion application. The width or course-wise extent of the sole maybe the same as that of the heel. However it is desirable, in someinstances, for example from the point of view of appearance, to form thereversed sole narrower than the heel as shown in Figs. '1 and 2.

The group of needles on which the reversed sole is knit is thus smallerthan the group of needles on which the heel and the high-splice portionare knit. Shortly before the toe is reached a transfer is made toposition all of the needles on the instep side in the lower cylinder andknitting is continued to produce the toe band B. The needles on the soleside of the cylinder continue to operate in the upper cylinder. Theupper part of the toe band is thus formed of outwardly facing stitcheswhile the lower part is formed of inwardly facing stitches. The needleson the sole side of the cylinder are then transferred to the lowercylinder and the toe pocket is knit by reciprocation like the heel.After the toe has been completed, a plurality of circular courses areknit to form a band of plain knit material known as the loopers edge.

At various stages in the knitting of the sock yarn changes are made tointroduce other or additional yarn. For example the yarn used in the legportion L may be different from that used in the top portion R and asubstitute yarn or splice yarn may be introduced when knitting the heeland the toe. The ends of yarn resulting from these yarn changes are onthe inner face of the fabric and hence do not show when the article ofhosiery is right side out.

In Fig. 3 there is shown another embodiment of the invention, the fabricstructure of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. This embodiment isessentially the same as that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that the leg andinstep portions of the sock are formed of Links-Links fabric instead ofwith vertical ribs. While the sole portion is shown in Fig. 3 as beingthe same width as the heel, it will be understood that in allembodiments of th invention a narrower or wider reversed sole can beused as desired since the width of the reversed sole is independent ofthe width of the high splice and the heel.

The reversed sole sock of Fig. 3 is knitted in substantially the samemanner as that of Figs. 1 and 2 except that during the knitting of thleg and instep portions selected needles are transferred from onecylinder to the other to provide the desired Links-Links pattern. Theparticular pattern illustrated in the drawings is solely by way ofexample and is subject to infinite variations.

A further embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5 differs from theembodiments of Figs. 1 to 4 in that the leg and instep portions are ofplain knit fabric and hence formed of consecutive courses of consecutiveoutwardly facing stitches. Also the top portion is illustrated as beingformed of 1 x 1 rib fabric although a broader rib may be used ifdesired. A further feature that is likewise applicable to the otherembodiments of the invention is that the heel and toe are formed ofterry fabric for example as disclosed in Thurston Patent 2,318,643. Theterry fabric provides a cushioning effect at the heel and toe while thereversed sole of the present invention provides a smooth surface forengagement with the bottom of the wearers foot.

It will be understood that the various features of the severalembodiments may be combined in other ways and that still othermodifications may be made, the invention being in no way limited to thespecific embodiments shown by Way of example in the drawing. Theinvention thus provides a new article of hosiery having importantadvantages over the prior art.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of circular knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facingstitches arranged in predetermined sequence, the number of outwardlyfacing stitches exceeding the number of inwardly facing stitches, heeland toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integralsole portion formed of consecu- 9 tive courses of consecutive stitches.

2. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of a lesser number of inwardly facing stitchesand a greater number of outwardly facing stitches arranged inpredetermined sequence to form vertically extending ribs, heel and toeportions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral soleportion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facingstitches.

3. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of groups of inwardly facing stitches and groupsof outwardly facing stitches arranged in predetermined sequence to formbroad rib fabric, heel and inwardly facing toe portions formed ofoutwardly facing stitches and an integral sole portion formed ofconsecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

4. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facingstitches arranged in predetermined sequence to form a Links-Linkspattern, heel and toe portions formed of outwardly facing stitches andan integral sole portion formed of consecutive courses of consecutiveinwardly facing stitches.

5. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of groups of consecutive inwardly facing stitchesand groups of consecutive outwardly facing stitches arranged inpredetermined sequenc to form a Links-Links pattern, heel and toeportions formed of outwardly facing stitches and an integral soleportion formed of consecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facingstitches.

6. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit coursesof stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knitcourses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion, at leastone circular knit course immediately following said heel portioncomprising consecutive outwardly facing stitches throughout thecircumferential extent corresponding approximately to the width of saidheel portion and a plurality of consecutive circular knit coursescomprising consecutive inwardly facing stitches throughout thecircumferential extent corresponding approximately tothe width of theheel portion.

7. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit coursesof stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knitcourses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion and aplurality of succeeding circular knit courses of outwardly facingstitches and inwardly facing stitches comprising consecutive inwardlyfacing stitches forming a sole portion having a circumferential extentless than the circumferential extent of said heel portion.

8. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit coursesof stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knitcourses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion, at leastone circular knit course immediately following said heel portioncomprising consecutive outwardly facing stitches throughout a coursewiseextent corresponding approximately to the width of the heel portion anda plurality of succeeding circular knit courses of outwardly face ingstitches and inwardly facing stitches comprising consecutive inwardlyfacing stitches forming a sole portion having a coursewise extent lessthan that of the heel portion.

9. An article of hosiery comprising a plurality of circular knit coursesof stitches forming a leg portion, a plurality of reciprocatorily knitcourses of outwardly facing stitches forming a heel portion and aplurality of succeeding circular knit courses each having the same totalnumber of stitches as the courses forming the leg,'and comprisingconsecutive inwardly facing stitches forming a sole portion having acoursewise extent corresponding approximately to that of the heelportion and consecutive outwardly facing stitches laterally boundingsaid sole portion.

10. An article of circularlyknit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of inwardly facing stitches and outwardly facingstitches arranged in predetermined sequence, a sole portion formed ofconsecutive courses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches and a toeband portion formed of inwardly facing stitches throughout the portionof its coursewise extent corresponding to the coursewise extent of thesole portion and formed of outwardly facing stitches throughout thebalance of its coursewise extent.

11. An article of circularly-knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed at least in the greater part of outwardly facingstitches, heel and toe portions formed of terry fabric comprisingoutwardly facing stitches of body thread and loops of terry thread onthe inner face of the fabric and a sole portion formed of consecutivecourses of consecutive inwardly facing stitches.

12. An article of circularly knit seamless hosiery comprising leg andinstep portions formed of .outwardly facing stitches and an integralsole portion formed of inwardly facing stitches.

13. A method of knitting an article of hosiery on a circular knittingmachine which comprises knitting a plurality of circular seamlesscourses composed at least in part of outwardly facing.

' stitches to form a leg portion, knitting a plurality of courses ofoutwardly facing stitches by reciprocation to form a heel pocket,knitting a plurality of circular courses to form sole and instepportions, the instep portions of said courses being composed at least inpart of outwardly facing stitches while the sole portions of saidcourses are composed solely of inwardly facing stitches and knitting aplurality of courses of outwardly facing stitches by reciprocation toform a toe pocket.

PAUL L. THURSTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file ofthis patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number OTHER REFERENCES Ser. No. 224,546, Nebel(A. P. C.), published May 4, 1943.

Patent No. 2,512,728

Certificate of Correction June 27 1950 PAUL L. THURSTON It is herebycertified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovenumbered patent reqmrmg correction as follows:

Column 1, line 9, strike out the comma and Words now abandoned;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, sothat the same may conform to the record of the case in the PatentOlfice.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of January, A. D. 1952.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gommz'ssz'oner of Patents.

